This Croc Will Die in 100 Days is a Twitter comic by Yuuki Kikuchi about a crocodile unknowingly living his last 100 days. While this title seems a bit morbid and you might wonder, “What could possibly be so enjoyable about this comic in the state the world is currently in?”，this Twitter comic is quite possibly one of the most beautiful and meaningful things I’ve read in a while. Before I start discussing the details and giving my opinions, there might be tiny little spoilers which may ruin the experience of this comic. I really suggest you read this comic before reading the review, I will link it right here below this paragraph. 

This comic is composed of 100 chapters, signalling the countdown to the end of the crocodile’s life. Every chapter is composed of 1 page with 4 short panels (with the exception of the last chapter) with simple yet charming illustrations of a crocodile and the life he leads. The comic was updated daily from around January with many people following the croc’s journey throughout the next 100 days. The crocodile lives a life many young adults live and shares many of their struggles and hopes. He has a job but dreams of becoming something greater (pro-gamer), he has a love-interest whom he initially is too shy to approach, he enjoys spending time with friends and eating meals with them, he tries to save money but treats himself from time to time, and he loves children and making them laugh. Croc doesn’t live the most extravagant lifestyle, but he looks forward to each day with optimism and hope. 

Although the comic is short and only takes about 20-30 minutes to read, most readers quickly form a connection with the charming crocodile. Even though we know that the croc will die (the title straight up tells us that), nothing could have prepared me or any other readers for the final chapter. Many loyal followers of this short series begged the author not to let the crocodile die and others waited in dread for the final chapter to drop. Although I didn’t find this comic until after the 100th day chapter was released, I found from Reddit that the 100th chapter was published later than usual. On day 100 of the comic, Croc is running late to the celebration and cherry blossom viewing with his friends as well, leading many readers to speculate that this was done on purpose. 

After I had finished reading this comic, I felt incredibly saddened and even upset. The croc was finally starting to live a life he wanted. He got together with the girl he was in love with, he finally got his cloud futon, he still had aspirations to become a professional gamer, and he was looking forward to seeing the cherry blossoms with his friends that very day, yet all of that was taken away from him so soon. His death, even more heartbreaking, was caused by him saving a bird from being run over. If you’ve read this comic, you’ll notice that this was similar to what he did in chapter 3, except this time, croc didn’t make it. After doing more digging, I found out that the author wrote this as an eulogy to his friend, which made the feelings of grief and disbelief even worse.

As I sat in my bed at around 1 in the morning in the midst of school closings and quarantines, I began to think. Life is so short and time is so valuable and precious. We know life isn’t permanent. We know that we’ll die at one point. However, no one knows when it will happen or how it will happen. Croc may have not had all the luxury and extravagance in the world or achieved everything he could ever want, but he lived a life full of appreciation and love and that was enough. He appreciated the smallest moments, such as entertaining a child on the street, or sharing a meal with his friends at their favorite ramen place, or seeing the girl he liked everyday, or spending time with his friends. Each day was never wasted and something meaningful was made from it. So as we sit here waiting for when things go back to “normal”, how can we still make our lives meaningful and memorable? It might just be the little things that fill our hearts with meaningful memories. I encourage you to still take your education seriously, but maybe try something new, pick up a lost hobby, find a new hobby, exercise, contact an old friend, whatever. Life is too short to have regrets.